The purpose of this study was to obtain a more complete cytogenetic picture of the last stage mouse hemangiosarcoma by the chromosome preparations effectuated directly from the tumors and the bone marrow.
G-banded chromosome analysis from 28 cells of the primary tumor, 9 cells from secondary tumor, and 77 cells from bone marrow revealed a constant structural aberration: 40,XX,ace, appearing in all probes although in different ratios(10.7%, 22.9%, and 8.6%, respectively). It was not possible to establish the origin of this chromosomal portion, likely acentric. Other structural anomalies(translocations, ring chromosome) and simple numerical aberrations(monosomies and trisomies) or complex(monosomies added to trisomies) and also numerical anomalies associated with structural anomalies(translocations + trisomies; del + trisomy; ace + X-monosomy) interested only single cells. These chromosome changes composed the “cytogenetic noise” characteristic to the genomic instability of this advanced hemangiosarcoma with metastatic cells in bone marrow.
In all the nonclonal and random structural and numerical aberrations identified, the implication of chromosomes 17 and 18 was striking enough.